Lady Luck hotel gets exclusive to develop land plan

Thursday, June 16, 2005 | 8:58 a.m.

The owners of the Lady Luck hotel in downtown Las Vegas were awarded a 180-day exclusive negotiating agreement on Wednesday to develop a plan for 5.5 acres of city-owned land that includes the historic downtown post office, a bus terminal, and a park that is popular with the homeless.

The council voted 6-0 to approve the agreement, with Councilman Michael Mack abstaining because his brother-in-law is one of the co-owners of the hotel. The agreement required a $100,000 deposit from the hotel company.

The casino operators want to use the park, which is on the corner of Stewart Avenue and Fourth Street, as a staging area for a construction project at the Lady Luck, but their specific long-term plans for the property are not known, city officials have said.

Scott Adams, director of the city Office of Business Development, said if the land is developed, the park, named the Frank Wright Plaza for the late Nevada historian, would probably be used first.

Construction on the land occupied by the Transportation Center would have to wait until a new terminal opens near the Plaza hotel.

The old post office is in the process of being renovated, and there are plans to turn it into a museum. Any development plans would essentially leave the post office alone.

The council, with Mack abstaining again, also approved a measure to lower the security deposit from the Lady Luck for its lease of a city-owned parking garage south of the casino on Ogden Avenue.

The $360,000 security deposit was lowered to $100,000.